NHL Eastern Conference

With the NHL All Star game this weekend, I thought it would be a good time to look back at the first half of the season and evaluate the season so far. I will also name my award winners for each conference (I know they only give out one of each award to the whole league, but for the purpose of this blog I will give out awards for each one).

Eastern Conference

Most surprising team: Boston Bruins
I know it might seem suspect to choose the team I happen to root for, but I honestly don't think that even the most optimistic fan would have thought the B's would have 73 points at the break (2 seasons ago the Bruins had 76 points for the whole season) which is tied with San Jose for the most in the NHL. This Bruins team is getting production from veterans like Marc Savard, Michael Ryder, and Zdeno Chara and youngsters like David Krejci, Phil Kessel, Dennis Wideman, and Blake Wheeler. Couple that with Tim Thomas and Manny Fernandez in goal and you can see why this team is one of the favorites for the Cup. The Bruins have been 'in it' in every game all season. If you look back at their losses the largest deficit all season has been 2 goals. They haven't lost by 3 goals all season so even when they are not playing their best it's not as though they are getting blown out either. I would go on a little more but I will actually have a long post about the B's next week.

Most disappointing team: Pittsburgh Penguins
It is a good thing that the Steelers are in the Superbowl or the Pens would be hearing a lot of bashing from the steel city. I know that this team has had some injuries, but with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin there is no way they should have the same amount of points as the Florida Panthers. If the season ended today the Pens would miss the playoffs and win the title of "most talented team to ever miss the playoffs." I really hope that they play better in the second half because I still wouldn't want to see the Bruins go against them in the first round.

Hart Trophy: Alex Ovechkin
I know Ovechkin is third in scoring behind the Pens dynamic duo, and Marc Savard has done a lot for the Bruins, and they are all good choices, but I have to lean towards Ovechkin because it seems as though he needs to score 2 goals and an assist for the Caps to win. Savard has been great but so have the Bruins goalies - Thomas and Fernandez rank 3 and 4 for best GAA while Jose Theodore and Brent Johnson for the Caps are 25 and 27.

Vezina Trophy: Tim Thomas
20 wins, 2.09 GAA, .934 save pct. Those number are really impressive. I'll have more on the strange case of "Tim Thomas and how he somehow learned how to be a good goalie after turning 32," next week.

Calder Trophy: Blake Wheeler
I know, I know, another Bruin, but I wouldn't have him as the overall winner and since this is my blog and I am picking one per conference and Wheeler does lead all Eastern Conference rookies in scoring (once again: a plug for the big Bruins blog next week) that said, I will have more on how lucky the Bruins were to get him.

Norris Trophy: Dennis Wideman
Wideman has 31 points and is a +26 to lead all defense men though he gets overlooked playing with Zdeno Chara. Say what you want about how well Brad Boyes has played, I still think that was a good trade in getting a good young defense men.

Jack Adams Trophy: Claude Julian
How did he get fired twice? CJ (as I like to call him) has done a great job this season mixing and matching lines (i.e. putting Ryder with Krejci has worked great), playing the hot goaltender, and overcoming injuries (one last reminder - I will have more on the Bruins next week).

Western Conference up next - I realize that I skipped the Lady Byng but I hate that trophy and I always liked the saying, "lose the Lady Byng on the first shift."